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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: lie · land · bark · spell · wax · squash · kid · game

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. squash — the sport
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. squash — to crush
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. spell — magic
  9. lie — to recline
  10. game — wild animals
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. land — a country
  13. kid — child
  14. land — to come down
  15. game — a match
  16. spell — letters
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. kid — to tease
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. land — ground
  21. spell — a short time
  22. wax — to grow
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. bark — to shout

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com